Ezekiel is God's mouthpiece. Ezekiel is fed by God's Word and its taste is as sweet as honey(Ezekiel 3:3). This is similar to what the Psalmist wrote in Psalms 119:103, "How sweet are your words to my taste." However, the Word can also leave a bitter taste in one's mouth (3:14). The apostle John experienced this same bittersweet taste in Revelation 10:9-10 (MacArthur Bible Commentary, p. 897). Both Ezekiel and John were prophets and were made to experience both tastes so that they could relay God's message with pinpoint accuracy to God's people. We are no different today and the message (God's Word) has not changed. To those who obey and love God's Word, the message's taste is sweet. But to those who rebel against and despise God's Word, the message's taste is bitter. The sweet taste leads to life but the bitter taste leads to death. It has been this way since the beginning of time when God commanded (Genesis 2:17)Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (tasting this tree led to death). What taste does God's Word leave in your mouth?
In reading God's hall of fame chapter (Hebrews 11), we tend to focus on "faith" or the "heroes of the faith" or the persecutions these heroes endured (v. 32-38). These are good things to focus on but we do not want to lose sight of the meaning of the last verse of the chapter (v. 40). This verse puts God's people of today right alongside the faithful heroes of the past. God's Son came and died at the perfect time in history. One day, people who lived by faith before his coming and people who lived by faith after his coming will unite together to celebrate His victory over death for an eternity! Are you living by faith in the Son of God?
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